BP Chats

I know this has been the question with the rays for the past 4 years, but why does the offense always seem to non-existent? I get annoyed at these small moves that don't do much (Luke Scott, Kelly Johnson, Cliff Floyd, Shelley Duncan, etc.) but are the only moves the team makes.(Steve from Tampa, FL)

Park factors play a role.

The free-agent hitters available in their price range tend to be either: old, hurt, coming off a bad season, or all of the above. I believe that offense has still ranked within the top five or six in the AL over the past four seasons by park-adjusted numbers, too. Solid given the circumstances. (R.J. Anderson)

Milton bradley would play 70 games this season if forced to play RF in Chicago. Why doesn't Jim Hendry realize this?(Gray from Chicago)

Because Bradley's hitting really can be that special, and other smart people have taken this same risk. It's almost like a more extreme variation on the bets people made on Cliff Floyd, for cause, and usually with a big of disappointment. (Christina Kahrl)

Taylor was the #1 overall pick in the 1991 draft, a high school southpaw with great stuff taken by the Yankees. He went ahead of Dmitri Young (#4), Manny Ramirez (#13), Cliff Floyd (#14), Shawn Green (#16), and several other future major leaguers. As with many hard-throwing young lefties, he struggled with control, but he was definitely projectable, reaching AA at 21. Unfortunately, that winter he got into a bar fight and was thrown down on his pitching arm. He missed a full year recovering, and when he came back he just had nothing left.

...You know what's interesting about that? I never thought about this before, but the Yankees left Taylor throw a million pitches at 20 and 21 (160 innings each year with tons of walks and strikeouts). I wonder if his arm would have fallen off even without the bar fight. (Steven Goldman)

Do you think Moises Alou is done? He just never stays healthy(Brock D from Shakopee, MN)

More done than the last decade he's spent hitting and being injured? If a team can't figure a way to maximize him, they don't deserve to win. Look at what they did with him over the past couple years or what the Rays are doing with Cliff Floyd. (Will Carroll)

What can the Phillies expect out of their revamped outfield? Particularly, how productive does Pecota think the Werth/Jenkins two-headed monster will be?(Will from New Orleans)

Y'know, it probably made sense for them to get Shane Victorino out of an outfield corner if they were going to play him every day, so there are some gains on the basis of efficiency there, but I can't think of a less inspired free agent acquisition than Geoff Jenkins. I would rather have just entrusted the job to Werth and perhaps signed a Cliff Floyd type as a plan B. (Nate Silver)

BP Roundtables

Re BJ: No, he got comfortable. Maddon and the medical staff did an amazing job managing that injury and situation so that he could get comfortable again. Granted, one wrong swing and he's back to zero. Of course, Buck Martinez told a story about Cliff Floyd being credited with saving Upton's season .... (Will Carroll)